MLB Rumors: Where Red Sox Stand Amid Roki Sasaki Sweepstakes
The Boston Red Sox aren’t to be counted out of the running for Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki this offseason just yet.
Sasaki, who’s expected to join a team during MLB’s next international signing period which opens on Jan. 15, pitched four seasons in NPB. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made a trip to Japan while Boston was still in-season, to catch a glimpse of Sasaki. Now, without a meeting confirmed with Sasaki, the Red Sox might look out of the race from afar but that isn’t necessarily the case.
“Per source, Red Sox haven’t been told they are out of Roki Sasaki mix,” WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported on Saturday.
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Boston hasn’t sat with its feet kicked back this offseason, urgently addressing the voids both in the starting rotation and bullpen. The Red Sox began by signing relief pitchers Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman, then swung a blockbuster trade for starter Garrett Crochet. Breslow’s next moves consisted of signing Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval in free agency, giving the team three new veteran starting pitchers, thus far.
Meanwhile, teams across the league have undergone their respective meet-and-greets with Sasaki, working to lure the 23-year-old. The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off a World Series win, and San Diego Padres are viewed among the favorites as the New York Yankees, too, secured their meeting in December.
Not many teams, yet, have confirmed permission for an in-person sitdown with Sasaki.
Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Group, confirmed that “a set few number of teams” underwent meetings and that the soon-to-be MLB pitcher isn’t approaching free agency like most have in the past.
“He doesn’t seem to look at it in the typical way that other players do,” Wofle said, per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. “He has a more long-term, global view of things. I believe Roki is also very interested in the pitching development and how a team is going to help him get better, both in the near future and over the course of his career. He didn’t seem overly concerned about whether a team had Japanese players on their team or not, which, in the past, when I represented Japanese players, that was sometimes an issue. That was never a topic of discussion.”
Two offseasons ago, the Red Sox signed outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million deal after the 31-year-old’s seven-year NPB run.
Sasaki, a fellow Japanese-born professional, could decide by the end of this month.